Enclosure
by SailorStar7
Summary: Dominic Cobb was in for one last ride, this one final job. Despite the risks and dangers Cobb was so driven by his will and determination to restore his reputation that he didn't see who might get hurt along the way. Except his team did. .::POST-MOVIE::.
1. An Offer

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inception, it's entirely owned by the magnificent Chritopher Nolan. I only own my storyline and my characters.

**Summary: **Cobb wanted his last job as an extractor to be something extraordinary, something people would remember him for. Question was though, just how far was he willing to go to prove he was still the best?

**A/N:**This is my first Inception fanfic. It's been ages since I wrote a proper fic so I'm a little bit rusty. Please keep in mind that English isn't my first language so there may well be some grammar mistakes in this. Constructive criticism is welcome, flames however will be eaten by the plot bunnies. Another thing I want to point out is that I've seen Inception twice and I'm still not exactly sure about how all the details work so if you think I've gotten something wrong please tell me so I can correct it, but I'm gonna try to make it as movie-accurate as possible. Anyway, enough rambling from me, enjoy the first chapter!

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**_One _**

_An offer _

"Dominic Cobb?"

"He's busy."

A newspaper slammed on the bar stand in front of Dominc Cobb, whose totem fell over. Cobb's gaze fell on the black Marc Jacobs shoes and then on the Armani suit and trousers that followed. It was probably someone looking to hire him, as a lot of people had tried to do in the past few weeks but he had turned them down. He had what he wanted now, his freedom and the most important thing of all, his children.

"Look, I'm sure you've come a long way to find me, but I'm not in the business anymore. You'll have to find someone else." By now Cobb was face to face with the man, whom was afro-american with a sort of Will Smith looking hairstyle and by the looks of him Cobb guessed he was in early or mid thirties. A simple hand gesture later and the bartender placed a glass of whiskey in front of the businessman.

"Let's start over. My name is James Banks, I own Banks Industries Incorporated." Mr. Banks said as he held out his hands.

"Yeah I know who you are Mr. Banks." Cobb shook his hand and returned to his drink, which was a White Russian and a pretty damn good one at that. He had heard and read about Banks Industries a lot recently, they were a company which specialised in the manufacturing of high-tech military weaponry. They had been making quite an amount of money recently and had therefore become a rivaling target for many other companies.

"Then you also know why I'm here." Said Mr. Banks as he drank some of his whiskey. While he did this Cobb noticed how Mr. Banks was tapping his fingers against the glass, as if he was somehow either impatient or nervous. It wasn't surprising though, the posistion he was in had be very stressful and time consuming.

"You're here to offer me a job. Something to do with extraction, some piece of information you want from an enemy. I already told you that I've quit. I'm doing it anymore." Cobb told him, he fiddled with the totem which was now inside his pocket. Weeks after they had been done with the Fischer job, Cobb still had to pull out his totem every now and then just to be sure that it was real, that they had actually succeeded. He couldn't bare the thought of still being stuck in the dream world, with the thought that they then had failed. Every single time his totem fell over he was just as relieved.

"Don't you even want to hear what the job is?" asked Mr. Banks as he emptied his drink and pulled it in front of him.

"No thanks. I'm sure I'll manage. Now do you mind, I'd like to finish my drink alone." Cobb replied.

Mr. Banks put a ten dollar bill on the bar stand and stood up. He straightened his tie and started heading out of the bar when he turned back around.

"You know people say you're the best there is." He told Cobb whom wasn't paying much attention. "Although I now I'm thinking the rumours are true. See word on the street has it that Dominic Cobb has lost his mojo. That he can't do it no more. I understand if you want to live your life, I just think it would be a shame to pull out knowing what people are saying about you."

Cobb finished his White Russian, paid for it and turned to face Mr. Banks.

"What did you have in mind?" he asked

To be continued…

_**It's a bit of a short first chapter, but I wanted to start it off simple. I hope you enjoyed it, please review **_


	2. Paris Revisited

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Inception. Christopher Nolan does.

**A/N: **This chapter is a bit longer than the previous one. Enjoy it and please press the review button after you've read it.

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**_Two_**

_Paris Revisited_

Ariadne was restless. In fact she had been restless for months and it was starting to bother her. Nothing was quite satisfactory anymore and even if she knew she had to stop comparing everthing to dreamsharing, she couldn't. Cobb had been right about dream-sharing, there was nothing quite like it and Ariadne found it difficult to just get on with life as normal. Even dreaming wasn't the same as before. The young architect glanced at the alarm clock, it was 04.50 and she wondered if there was even any use of going back to sleep_._

"Are you going somewhere?" Ariadne found herself being pulled back to bed when she was on her way up. Arthur wrapped his arms around her and yawned. He didn't mind getting up early, but even for him this was a bit over the top. Arthur had been awake for a while, just listenting to Ariadne breathing really.

"I can't sleep." Ariadne replied and she knew what Arthur thought about it, but it honestly wasn't the big deal he was making it to be.

"Hm." Arthur stroke a strand of hair out of her face. "Anything you wanna talk about?" he asked, already knowing the asnwer.

"No. It's nothing, I'm fine. I'm just restless." Arthur's hand traced down Ariadne's shoulder and she shivered. This was all still new to her and it amused Arthur to see her nervous because she was usually so sure of herself. Neither of them were sure of where it had begun though, whether it was back when Arthur had kissed her in the first dream level or further back than that.

A ringing phone interrupted their would be kiss. Arthur reached over to the bedside table to grab his phone. Who would be calling at this hour? The name on the display however answered his question. _Of course, who else would it be, _he thought.

"Cobb, do you know what time it is?" Arthur asked as he sat up and Ariadne looked at him. They had barely heard a word from Cobb since they parted at the airport in Los Angeles. Everyone had pretty much split up and gone about their own business and lives as per usual. With the phone in one hand Arthur got out of bed to find his clothes and Ariadne did the same thing.

"James Banks? Of course I know who he is, everyone's talking about him. No. Well, yeah I do. What did you have in mind? Now? What do you mean now? You're not even in—" The conversation was interrupted by someone knocking on the front door. Ariadne and Arthur exchanged somewhat confused glances. When Ariadne went to open the door, Cobb was standing outside with a phone in his hand.

"—Paris." Arthur disconnected the phonecall and just stared at Cobb for a while.

"Arthur, Ariadne. Good to see you again. I'm sorry about showing up unannounced." Cobb said as he greeted Ariadne with a hug and Arthur with a handshake.

"Don't worry about it. We were up anyway. I couldn't sleep." Ariadne said and closed the door behind Cobb. She had to admit that it was if anything, a relief to see him and most of all to see that he was well.

"So what's this about Banks Industries?" Arthur asked. They headed into the small living room and Dom looked around him. The flat was a fairly small one, he assumed this was originally Ariadne's flat and that Arthur had moved into with her. Either that or he did have a flat of his own, which Cobb somewhat doubted. Paris was a very expensive city.

"James Banks paid me a visit two days ago and offered me a job. Which I accepted. Although I can't do it on my own, I need the team back together." Cobb explained as he sat down on the brown living room couch.

"I thought you quit?" said Ariadne

"You know me, I can never resist a challenge." He told them, which was partly true. After all the Fischer job had all been about the challenge and thrill of it. They needn't know that this was mostly about him restoring his reputation.

"Besides." He added. "I'm not a wanted man anymore. I can do this just for fun." It was a lie which he almost believed himself.

"Okay, so what's the job?" Arthur asked. Of course there was something more to it, but he wasn't going to ask. Truth be told, Arthur wanted another job, probably as much as Ariadne did. Being into it, it was almost like a drug. You couldn't just simply draw out of dream-sharing, it was much too exciting. Arthur had been in it for so long that just adapting to a normal lifestyle was to say the least difficult.

"Banks Industries Incorporated is a company that manufactures high technological military weapons. Now I'm not exactly sure what type of weaponry it is, and honestly I'm not sure I wanna know, but it's supposed to make the warfare easier. Make it simpler and more effective." Cobb told them.

"In other words, making it easier to kill people." Stated Ariadne. _Only in America, _she thought and sighed.

"Precisely. This job is nothing like the Fischer job. This time it's not about performing Inception. For this job it would just have to be Extraction, but the piece of information that Banks wants us to steal is very detailed and we wouldn't be alone."

"How do you mean 'not alone'?" Arthur asked as he leaned against the wall. Banks Industries was a very powerful company, working for them probably meant that there was a good deal of money involved, but it also meant pressure.

"Banks' rival Demitri Padrovski, or archenemy if you like, has for some time now been allying with the UK Ministry of Defence to get a foot into the politcal gameplan. Rumour has it that the russians are working on something that could revolutionize modern warfare as we know it. Banks wants that information. He wants to know what the weapon is and is sure that Padrovski has a layout of it in his mind." Cobb explained. The sun had started rising and Ariadne came back into the kitchen with three cups of coffee.

"So Banks wants Padrovskis blueprint. Doesn't sound so difficult." Arthur said, although he knew it was never that easy. "What's the catch?" he asked

"Banks isn't the only one who wants those blueprints. Our job is to get to it first. Which means we have to work fast."

"Who else wants it?"

"He wasn't to keen on specifying. What do you say? Are you up for one last job?"

Ariadne exchanged glances with Arthur. Extraction, from what she gathered, seemed to be a great deal easier than Inception, but not less risky. Ariadne did want to do it though, especially since she knew that if she turned it down she would regret it.

"Supplying the British with the kind of technology they're developing, it could corrupt the entire political system." Said Ariadne as she sat down on an old armchair

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Cobb asked "We can always find another architect but I want someone I can trust."

"No I'm in. Definitely."

"Arthur?"

"Always."

Cobb grinned satisfactory.

"So. Does anyone fancy a trip to Mombasa?" he asked

**_To be continued…_**

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_There you have the second chapter. I know there was a lot of drabble about information on the job, but I had to get it out of the way. I hope you're still enjoying it Next up: Eames and Yusuf! Please review! _


	3. Eames In Over His Head

**Disclaimer: **Once again, I don't own Inception. I only own my storyline and my characters.

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it and please leave a review once you've read it.

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**_Three _**

_Eames In Over His Head_

"This is not one of your better ideas Eames."

"Well, I have to admit, I've had better. Mind you, it could be worse. _I've_ had worse."

Cobb looked up at the brick wall above him. The forger and the extractor were currently hiding under a building and were both heaving themselves forward through the narrowspace. It wasn't easy, especially as they had to make sure they weren't seen. The dirt beneath them was muddy to say the least and even if Cobb wasn't one to be afraid of insects and the like he really did not want to know what kind of things were crawling all around them.

"Yeah, that would be you wouldn't it. Story of your life." Said Cobb, panting a bit as he pulled himself forward, hoping Ariadne and Arthur were better off than they were.

"But this is charming though isn't it." Eames said whilst he shook a spider off his arm. He could see a bit of the street ahead of them but it was still a short while to go. "Kind of like the first time we met wouldn't you say?" Cobb had to admit that he was right about that part.

After a few moments they finally reached the streets again. Both Cobb and Eames made sure that Eames' stalkers weren't still following them. They pulled themselves out of the narrow space and dusted as much dirt they could off their clothes.

"That was fun wasn't it." said Eames sarcastically

"Oh yeah, a blast. Let's go find Arthur and Ariadne." Eames replied

"Arthur and Ariadne are here?"

"Yeah, I picked them up in Paris."

"Ah, they're finally together then. Took them long enough."

The people on the street cast several glances at Cobb and Eames, obviously wondering what on earth they had been up to. Other than that though, nobody else paid attention to them so hopefully it meant that the men whom had been chasing them were off their trail. _At least for now, best get out of here fast as we can, _thought Cobb.

"What happened to you?" asked Ariadne, reffering to the state of Eames and Cobb's clothes. Not to mention the smell of it.

"Just a run in with some old friends." Eames greeted Ariadne with a hug. "How are you darling? Paris treating you well I hope?" he asked

"Yeah, it is." replied Ariadne as she glanced at Arthur whom shook hands with Eames.

"By old friends you mean people who want your head for money?" Arthur guessed, a comment at which Eames just grinned.

"As always Arthur, it is lovely to see you." he said

"We need to start moving. This place isn't safe for us." said Cobb as they started walking at a fast pace. None of them fancied another cross country race through the streets of the city. The sun was scorching hot and even the citizens seemed to be suffering from. Ariadne couldn't wait to get to some shade.

"What about Yusuf? Don't we need a chemist? I mean last I checked you found him in Mombasa." Said Arthur.

"Let's just say his loyalty isn't with us anymore." said Eames.

"They got to him first?" asked Ariadne

"Yusuf doesn't have any loyalties, he sells himself out to the highest bidder and apparently it wasn't us this time." said Cobb, annoyed because Yusuf was a really good chemist and they needed to find another fast.

"So what do we do now? We need another chemist don't we?" asked Ariadne

There was silence between them for a while as Cobb thought about best ways to solve their current situation. He went through all their different options and in the end there was only one left he could think of. He looked back up at Arthur, Eames and Ariadne.

"We need Viviane." he said, mostly to Eames and Arthur whom exchanged glances with each other and Ariadne couldn't decide if it was a good or a bad thing. Even though Eames definitely knew what Cobb meant, he wasn't sure it was as easy as he made it out to be.

"You're never gonna get Viv out of England. She's just as bloody stubborn as you are." Eames said as he lit his pipe. He knew very well that Cobb was right and that they needed a Chemist to be sure they pulled the job off. This particular Chemist, however, was a difficult one to get a hold of.

"I know _I_ won't, but I think _you _probably can." Said Cobb and Eames let out a somewhat heavy sigh.

"You see, somehow I _knew_ you were gonna say that. I'll give her your best then shall I?"

**_To be continued…_**

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I know this chapter was also fairly short and that there was a lot of dialogue in it but it's going to get longer and better I promise :) in the meantime please review and tell me what you thought about it.

Cheers!

_**This chapter was also fairly short but it's going to get longer and better I promise. **_


	4. Viviane

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inception. I only own my characters and my storyline.

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter. I hope you like it. Please review!

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_**Four **_

_Viviane _

Viviane Martin had had a very long day and it was nice to spend the end of it at a club with her friends. It was a fairly small and intimate club with one dancefloor which every now and then had a live band playing, this was such a night. Then there was the bar area with several tables, sofas and so on. It was a comfortable place to hang out if you wanted a good place to hang out which wasn't too noisy or filled with drunken teenagers. Viviane and her friends went there about once a week so you could say it was their regular place. On this particular night Viviane was the first one of her friends to arrive so she stood by the bar and ordered a drink. What she didn't notice was the man whom was watching her from the entrance.

"How about a dance with a handsome man, Love?" asked Eames who came up behind Viviane

"No thanks mate, I'm not interested." she replied and took a step forward but Eames quickly put a hand on her waist.

"Not even if he's an old friend?" he asked. Viviane twitched for a short second and then turned around to Eames whom was smiling at her. _Hang on, _she thought.

"Eames!" Viviane exclaimed and threw her arms around him. It was certainly an unexpected surprise to see him but at the same time it made her all the more suspicious.

"So how about that dance?" asked the Forger as he took Viv's hand to lead her out onto the dancefloor.

"How about you tell me why you're here Eames?" replied Viv, because she knew Eames and could tell that whatever the reason for him showing up unannounced, it sure wasn't social.

"Oh I will love, just dance with me first."

_Like we haven't done this before, _thought Viv and found herself smiling.

"How have you been?" Eames asked

"I've been good. You?" Viv replied, although none of the small talk really mattered. Neither of them were particularly good at it.

"Oh you know me. I'm always fine."

"Yeah. So you decided just to pop in for a social call?"

"You know me well enough Viv. Take a guess."

"I don't want to play games Eames, just tell me why you're here."

"Okay fair enough. I'm here because I need to talk to you about a job. We need to talk about extraction."

Viviane pulled away from Eames and for a while she met his eyes. She ought to have known what it was about. Obviously she knew Eames wasn't there to just say 'hello' but she should have known it had something to do with a job.

"Whatever the job is Eames, my answer is no. You'll have to look for someone else." Viviane told him.

"Cobb doesn't want anyone else in the team. He wants you." Eames explained.

"You're working for Dominic? Of course, that explains it. My answer is still no though." Eames sighed. He thought it would be easier to get Viviane into the job but he had forgotten how stubborn she could be. He also knew that Cobb wasn't going to settle for a simple 'no' and knowing how much those two could argue it could end more worse than it needed to be.

"It's not just any job Viviane. We really want you in on this one. _I_ really want you in on this one." Eames said, hoping to get through to her.

"You know I'm out. I don't do it anymore Eames. I have a normal life now, a normal job which I'm very happy with and I have friends." Viviane explained although Eames could hear that she didn't even really believe it herself. He knew you couldn't just walk away from that kind of lifestyle and just live your life as nothing had ever happened. All the same, he hardly recognized the woman in front of him. For starters, she wasn't blonde anymore, in fact she had dyed her hair a sort of dark brown colour with hints of red in it. She also looked older than the last time they saw each other, then again she ought to. After all she had only been twenty-one at the time. She was twenty-five now.

"You're telling me you just have normal dreams at night? That you don't think about it every day? That you miss it. Come on Viv, even I know you don't just walk away from it like that."

"Well here's me walking away now. It's been good seeing you again Eames." Viviane gave Eames a kiss on the cheek and turned around to walk away.

"We perfomed Inception you know."

Viviane quickly stopped walked and turned to face Eames again. _Score, _he thought as he walked up towards her.

"No you didn't. Don't be ridiculous. That's impossible. You cannot possibly do Inception." Viv told him. He had to be lying, there was no way yo could perform Inception. She knew the theory behind it but she had never heard of anyone who had actually succeeded doing it.

"We did. I'll tell you all about it if you want to."

_I'm going to regret this. _"Yeah okay." she said.

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Cobb rushed his hands through his hair and sighed. He hadn't expected Yusuf to betray them to the other team, on the other hand though it wasn't exactly as if he owed any loyality to them. It was just a bit of a set back, if they had Yusuf they would be able to get to work right away. Now they had to hope that Eames would be able to get a hold of Viviane and if he didn't they would a problem on their hands. Sure there were chemists around but most of them weren't easy to find and often they were very expensive. No, Cobb wanted someone he knew, someone he liked and someone that he could trust. This job had to go right, he couldn't let people think that he couldn't do the job anymore. He was Dominic Cobb after all and he did have a reputation to live up to.

"God damnit." cursed Cobb as he leaned back against the armchair.

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"God I hate airports." said Viviane as they went through security. She wasn't afraid of flying at all, in fact she quite enjoyed it. It was the airports she had issues with, but then again she had reasons for not liking them.

"Are you still dreaming about that one airport?" asked Eames as he looked at her curiously. There was a still a while left before the gate opened so the two of them sat down. Viviane tried to remember the last time she had been the US and realised it had to have been almost two-three years ago.

"So how's Cobb doing?" she asked, ignoring Eames' question on purpose.

"Pretty good I think. He's off his charges and has his kids again." replied Eames as he leaned back against the plastic chair.

"What about Mal? Is she still getting in the way?"

"She tried to sabotage for us when we did Inception. I'm not sure what happened afterwards but I think he somehow let go of her. I didn't ask for details."

"I still can't believe you managed to do it. I've never heard of anyone successfully pull it off. We certainly didn't."

Viviane hade lowered her voice to a whisper because she didn't want other people to hear what they were taling about. Not everyone knew about dream-sharing, it wasn't a particularly known fact unless you were in the kind of business that used it. For normal people it was just one of those urban myths that circulated everyone now and then. Sometimes it would be the topic of a conversation amongst friends at the pub or there would be something written in a book about conspiracies but no one really paid much attention to it. It was just something they brushed off their shoulders and then forgot about.

"Makes you wonder what we did wrong doesn't it?" asked Eames. He had wondered about that too ever since their former team had tried pulling it off.

"Maybe we just weren't specific enough. I bet Arthur didn't like that idea. I mean Inception is dangerous." said Viviane with a smile

"He's got a girlfriend now you know. Our new architect Ariadne."

"Oh does he? Good on him, he really needs one. What about her, is she any good?"

"She's _very_ good. The best I've seen. Did you realise you didn't answer my question earlier?"

"Oh I realised it. I just wasn't planning on telling you."

_Of course you weren't _thought Eames and was about to reply when he looked over Viviane's shoulder. There were two men who had been watching them for a while but now they had left. Eames wasn't sure if he was supposed to be relieved or worried about it. He wondered who they were but then again he could probably assume that they were a part of the other team Cobb had mentioned. Either that or it was just their henchmen.

"Is there someone following us?" asked Viviane when she saw the expression on Eames' face and turned around to see what he was looking at

"There was just a moment ago." said Eames

"_Good evening ladies and gentlemen, flight 413 to Los Angeles is now boarding. Please prepare to show your passport." _

"Hopefully we'll lose them now." Said Viviane as she reached for her passport and went to stand in the queue. Eames took one last look around him and wished he could be as certain as Viviane seemed to be.

_**To Be Continued…**_

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_**There you have it, this chapter was a bit longer and I hope you liked it. There will be more action soon I promise. In the mean time please review and tell me what you think. It helps me with the writing **_

_**Cheers!**_


	5. Merry Meet

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Inception.

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it!

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_**Five **_

_Merry Meet _

"Okay, homework time, I've dug info on Padrovski."

Ariadne was fiddling with her totem when Arthur came back into the room. He had a bunch of files in his hands and threw one to Ariadne. They were in a warehouse/workshop which was pretty much identical to the one they had used during the Fischer job. Ariadne flipped through the pages of the file as Arthur sat down next to her. As for the moment they were the only ones in the workshop and neither of them knew exactly where Cobb was.

"Shouldn't we at least wait for Cobb to get back?" asked Ariadne

"We should get as much reading done as we can so we can get the actual work done faster." replied Arthur.

He turned to Ariadne. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just, have you noticed Cobb's been acting, I don't know a bit stressed out." said Ariadne.

It was true. Arthur had also noticed it but had decided not to make a thing out of it because he knew Cobb and also knew he would just ignore it. Hopefully it was something that wouldn't affect the job because that would complicate things for all of them. Arthur could understand why Ariadne was worried because she looked up to Cobb and had a lot of respect for him as well. He was after all her mentor.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing." Arthur assured her as he leaned in to kiss her.

"You know you have hotel rooms for these sort of things."

Ariadne and Arthur broke the kiss of and turned around to Eames and Viviane whom had just entered the warehouse. Arthur just raised an eyebrow at the forger and decided to simply ignore his comment.

"Arthur!" said Viviane. She practically flung her arms over Arthur when she walked up to him.

"Hey Viv, how are you?" Arthur asked

"You know I'm actually pretty good. I hear you're doing good."

Viviane turned around to Ariadne. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to jump your boyfriend. I don't usually do that I promise. You must be Ariadne. I'm Viviane."

"Yeah, I am. Pleased to meet you."

The two girls shook hands. "So you're the new architect? I've heard you're very good." said Viviane as she studied Ariadne and thought they were probably going to get along well.

"I'm not that good. I still need lots of practice."

"She's being modest. Ariadne's the best architect I've seen." said Cobb as he entered the room. Viviane thought he looked older, at least a bit. But he looked better than the last time they had met, not as tired and exhausted. She wondered what had changed but decided not to give any further thought to it. It was Dom and she was always glad to see him.

"Hey kiddo. It's good to see you again. I've missed you." Cobb admitted as he hugged Viviane.

"You know I'm not such a kid anymore Dom." Viviane told him

"Always have been to me. You know Eames thought we weren't gonna get you out of England."

Viviane looked at Eames. "Did he now?"

"As much as I love this little reunion, we have more urgent things to discuss." Eames interrupted, as to change the subject. But they did have things to talk about. The people who had followed him and Viviane in London was an issue that needed to be addressed especially if they were sent to interferre in their work. Eames wondered when they had started stalking them and exactly how much they knew.

"Such as?" asked Arthur

"Viv and I were stalked in London. I'm not sure for how long, but they were at the club and then followed us all the way to Heathrow." replied Eames

"Was it the same guys?" asked Cobb referring to the chase back in Mombasa. This was bad and meant they needed to be on their guard and be more careful. It bothered Cobb because it made it more difficult to operate under pressure and stress.

"No these two were different. Someone's put an effort into finding us." Eames replied

"So what do we do now?" asked Ariadne

"We try to stay low and work as discreetly as we can. If there's someone stalking us it's guaranteed because they want to stop us from reaching Padrovski." said Cobb but it was probably much easier said than done.

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They spent the rest of that day researching and memorizing everything they could about Padrovski because Cobb had said they needed to get close to him and study him before they could perform Extraction. Viviane was working on formulating the compunds they needed to get into the dreamstates and was fiddling a bit with the PASIV device they also used when Cobb entered the room. Both Ariadne, Arthur and Eames had left for the day because it was in fact quite late. Well after one o'clock in the morning. Viviane felt as if she was a bit rusty on making the drugs that was needed because she hadn't mixed them or even touched that science for years.

"Shouldn't you be getting some sleep? Cobb asked as he leaned against the table where Viviane was working.

"Nah." Viviane replied "Not yet. I wanna do this first. Make sure I've got it right. It's been a while you know." she added and opened the PASIV

It felt so strange to her to be back and doing all this again. Since she was older now she understood more of it than she done when she started, then again she had only been twenty-one at the time, she was twenty-five now. Viv hadn't expected to be there at all and strangely enough she was very glad she was there.

Cobb cleared his throat. "I, ehm, I just wanted to say thank you. For doing this I mean. It means a lot to me and I appreciate it." he said.

Viv turned around to Eames. "You know when Eames showed up I was so sure I didn't want to do it but now I don't know. I'd forgotten how much it affects you." she told him.

Cobb couldn't help but to smile. "How's the old man?" he asked, changing the subject.

"He's good. Same old. He sends his best as always." Viv replied

"Give him mine."

For a while there was silence between them and they said nothing.

"You ought to visit more often you know. I know you haven't been able to, but even with Mal…" Viv said after a while

"It's been a bit crazy. No doubt Eames told you about the Fischer job." Cobb replied. By now Viviane had close the PASIV device and sat up on the table next to Cobb.

"He did. Congrats on that by the way. You'll definitely be hired for more interesting jobs now."

"Yeah I guess you're right."

"So why this job then?"

Cobb raised and eyebrow and turned to Viv.

"What do you mean?" he asked

"You like challenges Dom. You choose job after the kick and level of difficulty. This is not the most complicated job you've done. What's the deal?"

Cobb sighed. "Apparently people are saying I can't do the job anymore. That I'm not fit for it, that I'm out of balance. That there are people better than me. I'm not doing it for the money Viv." Cobb explained

"You're doing it to prove you're still the best? Okay, fair enough. Just be careful though. It's easy to miss your footing on a slippery slope."

Viviane yawned, feeling a bit tired and jetlagged afte the flight back to the US.

"Go get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow." Cobb told her and Viviane was about to head for the door when she turned around to Cobb again.

"I am glad to be here you know. Really. Goodnight." And with that she left the warehouse, leaving Cobb alone with his thoughts.

_**To be continued…**_

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_**This chapter was fairly long and with a lot of dialogue. There will be action in the next chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review and tell me what you thought. **_

_**Cheers!**_


	6. Washington DC

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inception.

**A/N: **I'm not quite sure how to describe this chapter. Part of it is written because of a request a reviewer made. Anyway, at least things are starting to happen. Enjoy it!

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_**Six**_

_Washington D.C. _

"_Before we can do anything we have to study him. Get close to him. No doubt the other team are aware of that too. That's why we need to be better and faster. We need to blend in, act like we belong, get what we need and then get out." _

"_Sounds easy enough."_

"_Assuming they don't find out who we are." _

"_Well then we'll make sure they won't." _

_

* * *

_

The St. Regis Washington Hotel was full with people and everyone were really well dressed. It wasn't strange at all though since there was a gala tonight and the dresscode was as to be expected formal. They had decided to split up. Eames and Viviane were already inside the building, blending into the crowd and having a general look around to make sure everything was alright. Arthur, Cobb and Ariadne were on their way inside and even if they didn't have them insight they all wore sort of bluetooth headsets. Of course these were small so that they wouldn't be visible to others and cause suspicion. The reason for the gala was an opening of a new exhibition to which Padrovski had been invited. It was a perfect opportunity to see him in person and get a better graspe of who he was which was essential if they were to get inside his mind.

"Are you okay?" asked Viviane as she looked at Eames. He hadn't spoken as much as he normally did which was what had caught her attention.

"Hm?" Eames snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention to Viviane. "Yeah, fine." he replied. It was of course a lie. Partly at least. Truth be told Eames was a on edge and a bit worried that things might not go so smoothly as Cobb seemed to think it would. He had his eyes out for the men from London and Mombasa because the last thing they needed were any more unwanted surprises. They were walking through one of the exhibition rooms and then on through a corridor to the great hall.

"This feels very National Treasure." said Viviane "Except we're not here to steal the declaration of independence and we're in the wrong building. Then again, with the right person and the right mind we could steal it."

"What would we do with it?" asked Eames

"Find the lost treasure of the knights templar?

"You watch too much film darling."

Viviane was about to reply when Eames pulled her aside and she noticed she had been about to bump into one of the waiters.

"Careful."

"Thanks. We should probably go see if we can spot Padrovski somewhere. I think we'll have a better view from the stairs."

They headed towards the stairscases and meanwhile Eames kept looking around for any signs of possiblet rouble, although for now it seemed like everything was going according to plan.

* * *

"I see Eames and Viviane, they're by the stairs." said Ariadne as she pointed in the direction where the other were. Ariadne couldn't help but to look around at study what she saw. She loved the architecture of the hotel and the fact that it was old mixed with new. She would love to stay longer and just admire it but unfortunately there wasn't enough time for that.

"And there's Padrovski probably talking to some state official." said Arthur. The plan was simple enough. Cobb was going to walk up to Padrovski, talk to him and pretened like he was, well an admirer so to speak whilst Ariadne and Arthur stole his room key out of the pocket. It needed to be done fast or else there would be suspicion and someone was bound to notice that not everything was what it seemed.

Of course Cobb knew exactly how to solve that problem.

"Let's do this shall we?" he said. Cobb walked up toward Padrovski whilst Ariadne and Arthur took another way around. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

"_Eames, Viv, we need some kind of distraction a diversion. Can you take care of that?" _Arthur said via the headset

"Absolutely Arthur my love." Eames replied as he and Viviane walked through the hotel lounge. They stopped for a while and Eames looked around him as if he was looking for some sort of solution.

"Any ideas?" asked Viv

Eames turned to the Chemist and grinned very widely. "What?" Viv asked, although before she could say anything further Eames had grabbed her hand and pressed her against the closest wall, his hands wrapped around her waist as he kissed her. Viviane was so completely flabbergasted that she just went along with it without any further consideration. The people around them gasped loudly, obviously offended by what she saw. Viviane could feel Eames smiling as he was kissing her, like he was really enjoying it.

"Excuse me! Sir! Ma'am! This is a _public_ area! Do you have any idea of where you are?" someone half shouted. At this point one of Eames' hands was wandering up Viviane's skirt.

"Eames!" Viviane whispered

"Gotta make it look real sweetheart." Eames replied and out of the corner of his eye he could see Arthur and Cobb sneaking past. A tall security guy with long black hair tied in a pony tail and a colored woman with short curly brown hair came up towards them and pulled them apart quite harshly.

"Alright lovebirds, come along." said the security woman as she grabbed Viviane's arm and headed out of the great hall towards the main entrance. People were whipsering as they were being lead out and some looked very shocked and horrified at how two adults could behave in such a manner at such an occasion.

"You _had_ to kiss me? _That_ was your idea of a distraction?" said Viv when the security was out of hearing range. Eames didn't seem to bothered about it at all, in fact he seemed to be very pleased about the situation as it had turned out. Viviane on the other hand was not so pleased.

"What was wrong with it? It worked didn't it? You seemed to enjoy it well enough." Eames replied, knowing he had a fair point.

"That's not the point Eames!"

"So what _is_ the point then? Why does it always have to be a point to everything with you? I can't just kiss you 'cause I feel like it?"

"No you can't."

"Why not? That never used to be a problem between us."

"Well that's just it Eames. There never really was an us was there?"

They were arguing quite loudly, in fact so loudly that people who walked by them on their way to the main entrance turned their heads and wondered what was going on. They were quiet for a while and none of them said anything. It had started raining at that moment and at least Viviane hoped that Arthur, Cobb and Ariadne found what they were looking for in the hotel room so that they could get out of there as fast as possible.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Eames as he turned to Viviane.

"You know what, can we please just not do this now." Viviane replied

"No actually let's—"

"Hey, we've got what we need. Let's go." Cobb interrupted them as he, Ariadne and Arthur headed towards them.

"Nice distraction by the way." Arthur told them. Viviane just groaned and quickened up her pace to catch up with Cobb.

"Not a good timing Arthur." said Eames and sighed.

**_To be continued…_**

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**_I hope you liked it so please review and tell me what you think. It helps me find out if I should continue writing this fic or not. But since I've got a quite a few hits on it I assume you like it. But yeah, drop a line and let me know what you think._**

**_Cheers!_**


	7. Nightmares and Dreamscape

**Disclaimer: **Inception is still not mine.

**A/N: **This chapter is not as fast paced as the last one but I hope you'll like it anyway. Enjoy it!

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_**Seven **_

_Nightmares and Dreamscape_

They worked hard over the next few days and nobody really slept much. Ariadne worked a lot on the dream design and taught it to Eames whom they had decided was going to be the dreamer. Viviane worked on combining and create the somnacin drugs for the dream-sharing. Outside the extraction business, Viviane didn't work in chemistry at all. It was one of the things she had made clear when she first quit the job because she wanted a job that didn't have any kind of connection to extraction. It was raining on this particular night, and Viviane didn't fancy walking all the way back to the hotel later. She was making two cups of coffee, one for herself and the other for Ariadne. It was often the two girls who stayed late which also gave them an opportunity to chat and get to know one another. They discovered fairly early on that they got on well and enjoyed each others company.

"Hey, want some coffee?" asked Viviane as she walked into the warehouse largest room. She handed a cup of tea too Ariadne who looked up at her.

"Thanks." she said. It was obvious she had been lost in her own world. Viviane sat down on one of the chairs.

"How's the teaching going?" Viviane asked

"Pretty good actually. Eames is a fast learner."

"That he is." Viviane was talking from experience and found herself smiling at some of the memories that popped up in her mind.

"What happened that night in Washington? What did he say?" asked Ariadne, not hiding that she was curious about it. Neither Eames nor Viviane had spoken much to each other since Washington. They didn't exactly ignore or avoid each other, given that it was impossible, they just didn't say much at all. If Viviane knew Eames well enough though, the subject was going to be brought up sometime in the not too distant future.

"He didn't tell you?" Viviane asked with a tone of surprise.

"No." Ariadne drank from the coffee and found herself yawning. She was used to early mornings and not such as late nights. Viviane opened her mouth and was about to speak but she was interrupted by Cobb walking into the room.

"I didn't realise you were still here." said Viviane.

"Didn't you know? I've got ninja stealth. How do you think I've raised to kids?" Cobb said with a gleam in his eye. "I was actually wondering if I could borrow you for a while Viv." he added as his voice changed to something more serious.

"What for?"

"You don't need to sound so worried kiddo. I just want you to go into a dream with me. You need some repetition. Ariadne, let me give you a quick lesson in how the PASIV device works. Someone needs to supervise it."

"Sure." said Ariadne and nodded.

* * *

Eames had spent the past hour or so trying to shake off the man who was shadowing him but without any success. It was starting to irritate him so he hid around a corner in an alley and waited until the stranger passed by. _Three, two, one_, on the last count Eames reached out and grasped his collar and pressed him against the wet brick wall. The man was pretty young, around his early thirties and had long blonde hair tied up in a pony tail. He was trying to reach for a gun put Eames was faster. He decided that causing a scene where people could see them was not a good idea so instead of using the gun himself he took it and threw it.

"You know I really don't like hide and seek. I'm just gonna guess you and your buddies are the ones who've been following us a lot lately. So, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's all up to your choosing." said Eames, still holding the blonde against the wall.

"I'm not telling you anything." he replied

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you."

Eames kneed the blonde man in the stomach which made him fall to the ground and grasp for air. The forger crouched so he was leveled with his new found friend. Once again Eames grabbed hold of his shirt collar as not to allow him escape.

"Now then, shall we have a nice little chat darling?"

* * *

"I really don't wanna be here." said Viviane as she glanced around her. They were standing in the middle of a long wide airport corridor. There were quite a few number of shops and restaurants along the way and sets of chairs by each gate. The corridor went on for what seemed like forever and it looked pretty much the same. There were of course a few variations, such as staircases, lifts or escalators but in general it looked just like any ordinary airport.

"You can't just ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist Viv. If it's in your mind it's as real as anything and it can destroy you from the inside. Believe me, I know." Cobb told her, using his very pedagogical voice. They walked along the empty corridor, in fact the entire section of the airport was completely deserted. Viviane wanted to snap out of it and wake up again, just being there made her stomach churn.

"Once we're all in the dream you can't let this manifest." Dom continued

"I'm not the dreamer you know." Viv replied

"Neither was I and yet Mal kept coming back. We just barely made it out in time. It almost consumed me. I don't want to see this do the same to you."

"It won't. I'm in control."

That was a very bad and shallow lie.

"Oh really? What if I told you all the doors are locked and we're stuck inside?"

There was that look in Cobb's eyes again, that very serious one which sometimes frightened Viviane even if she knew he didn't mean any harm by it. It was just his way of letting her know that he was indeed serious about what he was saying. Viviane felt her pulse accelarating and was immediately more uncomfortable. She reached inside her pocket and fiddled with her totem for a while.

"Just relax. This isn't limbo." said Cobb calmly. "We won't be here for that long. Breathe." he looked around as he heard glass shattering somewhere further down the corridor, just like when Ariadne had first realised they were dreaming. Another window smashed and thousands of small pieces of glass fell to the floor.

"Focus Viv, close your eyes and breathe. Stay calm and relax. Remember what I first taught you." Cobb told her. There was still some time left on the PASIV device, probably not too long, but hopefully just about enough. Viviane breathed and tried to not panic but the memories of limbo came back to her. Even if it was years ago she still remembered it very clearly and thought of it along with this place absolutely terrified her. She wasn't a perfect person, in fact this was one of her many fears and flaws. She often had trouble letting go of things that she shouldn't have hold onto in the first place.

A soft tune of Edit Piaf was playing in the distance and suddenly both Cobb and Viviane found themselves awake again. The first thing they saw when they sat up was both Arthur, Ariadne and Eames in the room.

"We've got a visitor." said Eames grinning widely.

_**To be continued…**_

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_**I wanted to try dwelling a bit further into Viviane so you can find out more about her. I hope you liked it. Please review! **_


	8. Old Friends

**Disclaimer: **As always, I don't own Inception.

**A/N: **It's been a while since I updated but I've been busy with uni work and such. Anyway, here's the next chapter and I hope you'll enjoy it because I enjoyed writing it!

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_**Eight **_

_Old Friends _

"Isn't this wasting time? Padrovski is leaving for Tokyo in two days we don't have time for this."

"Ssh! There he is. Come on."

Eames was the one who hushed Ariadne, they were rounding a corner in a very busy Los Angeles street. It was daytime and therefore lots of people around but it wasn't difficult to spot Yusuf in the middle of the crowd. It seemed like he was in a hurry but it didn't appear as if he had noticed he was being followed. Eames and Ariadne were on one end, Cobb and Viviane on another as well as Arthur. Interrogating the young blonde, whose named turned out to be Hanson, hadn't proved successful at all so they'd had to release him. With that aspect in mind, Cobb had decided that best way to get information was to get it from Yusuf so Arthur had easily tracked him down and there they were. Cobb had to admit he was a little bit pissed that Yusuf had betrayed him because he thought he was the loyal kind but apparently he was wrong. Ariadne was right though, in reality they didn't have a lot of time for this so they needed to work quickly.

"So let me get this straight. James Banks hires you for an extraction job right and he tells you that this other team is out for the same information for a rival so we have to work twice as fast to get hold of the mark and you take the job to restore your reputation. That part I completely understand. It's just the fact that he doesn't tell us anything else, nothing about who his rival is or anything. I don't know it bothers me and Dom it should bother you too. You're not usually this….well, frankly careless." said Viviane as they walked through the crowd. She wasn't sure Cobb was paying any attention to her though, whether it was on purpose or not.

"You don't have to worry. I know what I'm doing." Cobb told her as they closed up on Yusuf. They were still in a crowded area so they had to get him somewhere private. They didn't want to bring unnecessary attention towards themselves.

"It's just feels like we're missing something. Say we're all in the dream world, what happens if they connect their PASIV to ours? That means we're all inside the same dream. What do we do then? I mean you said it yourself, Yusuf had a PASIV that could connect twelve people into the same dream. That would be dangerously unstable."

"We're not performing Inception Viv, this is just dream within a dream. It's nothing we haven't done before and a dream is more stable than you think it is. Just relax. Here's our chance. Let's split up."

Viviane didn't have a chance to say anything further because Cobb had started jogging around the crowd towrads Yusuf. It wasn't that she didn't trust Cobb because she trusted him with her life but she was just a bit unsure about the situation and sincerily hoped that he was not in too deep so to speak. The young chemist started quickening up her pace to catch up but something else suddenly caught her attention.

"That wouldn't be my chemist you're after now would it Viviane?"

_Shit! _thought Viviane as she turned around.

* * *

"Holy _shit_! That's Liam!" Eames exclaimed, half in awe because that was the last face he had expected to see in Los Angeles. Ariadne looked confused as the forger stopped walking and completely turned his attention towards Viviane and the man with whom she was talking. The man Eames referred to as Liam had dark fairly short and somewhat curly hair and he was definitely in his thirties although with several strands of grey hair sticking out.

"Who is Liam?" Ariadne asked, not understanding a thing that was going on. Judging by Eames' tone of voice though, she could deduct it probably wasn't anything good.

"Really bad news love." replied Eames as he started heading over to where Viviane and Liam were standing.

* * *

"So you're the one Yusuf's working for." Viviane assumed as she looked at Liam. She didn't trust him and quite frankly he scared that hell out of her. There were things that man was capable of that would give anyone nightmares for years to come. Viviane glanced sideways and could out of the corner of her eyes see Arthur in the distance. Liam just smiled at her, not a chilly or sly smile at all, in fact it was just a normal warm and friendly smile.

"Still don't trust me huh? Well, I guess I earned that. Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. At least not yet. I'm sure you remember your _brother_ and I have some…shall we say unsettled scores?" said Liam

"So let's settle them." Cobb said as he entered the scene. Liam looked pleased at the sight of him although Cobb didn't share that feeling.

"Nah, you know me Dom. I like things grand. I'm not here to cause a messy scene, that would be bad for all of us. Be sure though, I will settle the scores. One way or another. I'll see you in Japan."

Liam didn't say anything else, he turned around and walked back into the crowd and was eventually out of sight. Viviane sighed relieved and Cobb wasn't happy at all. Within a short while Eames, Ariadne and Arthur had caught up with them.

"Things just got a bit more complicated." Cobb told them

* * *

"They're siblings?" asked Ariadne a couple of hours later when they were back at the warehouse. She hadn't seen that one coming and wasn't sure what to say at all. Arthur nodded in response. They probably could and should have told Ariadne that Viviane and Cobb were in fact brother and sister, but no one had really felt it was relevant. If anything it would have been Cobb's job to say something about it but he hadn't. When Ariadne thought back on it, there were signs she realised she ought to have noticed.

"_You're never gonna get Viv out of England. She's just as bloody stubborn as you are."_

"_Hey Kiddo! It's good to see you. I've missed you."_

"_I'm not such a kid anymore you know Dom." _

"_Always have been to me."_

"They're not much alike." Ariadne said after a while.

"You'd be surprised just how much alike they are." Arthur told her with experiences as he thought back on a lot of the very loud arguments Cobb and Viviane used to have back in the early days.

"Why don't they have the same last name?"

"I'm not really sure honestly. Viviane changed to their mother's maiden name a few years ago. I haven't really asked why. I know there was some discussion about it within the family and Viv was upset for a while but I think eventually it worked out."

"You've known them a long time haven't you?"

Arthur nodded. "They're like family to me."

Ariadne liked the side of Arthu and she liked finding out more about him, although she didn't know much about his own parents and family to be honest. They shared a kiss for a while and once again Ariadne found herslef blushing.

"Okay lovebirds, I don't know about you but I'm heading back to the apartment. We have a long day and a long flight tomorrow. I need my beauty sleep." said Eames as he walked into the room and clearly interrupted them. But he was right though, tomorrow was going to be a long day and everything needed to be ready.

**_To be continued_**

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_**There we go, now things are starting to happen. I hope you liked it and please review! **_


	9. In Which We Find Out Viv's Truth

**A/N: **This chapter is at the request of my readers. A quick note however: when I wrote Liam and described him I thought of him as Robert Downey Jr. Of course you may imagine him how you wish but that's how I imagine him. This is also my favorite chapter so far. I'm very proud of it. Enjoy it

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_**Nine**_

_In Which We Find Out Viv's Truth_

Viviane had almost fallen asleep when several knocks on the door woke her up. She got out of bed and put on a bathrob and went to open a door. Eames was standing in front of her with a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hands. It wasn't exactly what Viviane had expected but all the same it could have been worse. Eames entered the apartment and looked around him, realising that he had been there before.

"This is the old place isn't it?" he asked as he poured two glasses of white wine.

"Yeah, the good thing about this business is that you always have contacts. Dom pulled some strings, I didn't really fancy staying in a hotel." Viviane replied

"God you've turned British. Besides, I thought you didn't like _this_ business."

"Don't push your luck Eames. What is all this anyway?"

"Call it a peace offering."

Eames handed Viviane one of the glasses and then sat on the couch. Viviane had almost forgotten how Eames could be sometimes. Being on a job again brought back a lot of old memories that she had forgotten, or rather surpressed. Liam was of course always bad news and Viviane had to admit she wasn't all to comfortable about his threat. He was a man one should not underestimate, that had been their mistake the last time.

"How about Liam being back eh?"

"Oh yeah, such a joy. I bet Dom's real glad now."

"It should make thing smore interesting." Such a typical comment from Eames, but he did have a point and things like this were bound to happen. It was in fact very seldom things went exactly according to plan.

"Are you afraid of me darling?" asked Eames suddenly which caught Viviane a bit off guard. She turned to face the Forger with a raised eyebrow, confused.

"….no?" she replied. Eames got off the couch and walked over to her. He had that michevous expression in his eyes that he got every now and then.

"Eames…" said Viviane as she noticed the hands he had placed on her waist.

"Why is it that whenever I touch you, you back away like I've done something? If it is something I've done I'd like to know."

"You haven't done anything."

"So what is it? You're clearly scared of something. You used to be able to tell me things you know." And then in a sudden instant he realised what it was. "You're afraid of falling back?" he added and looked at her concerned.

"Of course I'm afraid of falling back. I was out of control back then."

"You know it's not gonna happen again."

"Eames the whole reason to why I ended up in limbo was because I was careless and had absolutely no control. If I get involved again…if I get too much involvved, I mean with Liam being here again…it's just like one big déjà vu."

"Do you really think we're goingto let that happen. We won't, none of us will."

Viviane wasn't convinced. Even after years her own costumed made version of hell manifested in her dreams which was bad enough. Back in those days her and Eames had been close and Viviane was afraid that if they got close again and if she got too involved in the business of dreamsharing, everything would start back up again. She was afraid it would just be one bad nightmare all over again. Of course it wasn't Eames' fault, but he was still a part of it. Viviane was worried about what would happen once they were in the dreamworld. She wanted nothing more than to stay on the other side whilst the others did the job but she knew for a fact that Cobb wasn't going to let her stay behind. Eames understood so well how she felt because after all, he had been there through all of it. He was certain though that none of it was going to happen again.

At least that's what he sincerily hoped.

* * *

"Does Arthur know you're here?"

"No, he's sound asleep."

"Aren't you supposed to be?"

"There were some details in this I wanted to fix first."  
_She's going to end up being a workaholic, _thought Cobb as he watched Ariadne working on the dream architecture. Ariadne had improved her dream-building skills a lot and Cobb was impressed by how fast a learner she was. Miles had been right about her. She was much better than he was when he started out designing dreams. Ariadne could definitely go far in architecture and a part of Cobb hoped that she wasn't going to get stuck in the extraction business. Of course, there was a lot of money in it but if the wrong people found of and something went bad, it could terminate all her chances at getting a "proper" job as an architect.

"Doesn't it bother you?" asked Ariadne

"Doesn't what bother me?" Cobb wasn't quite sure what she was talking about. At that particular moment there was nothing that bothered him apart from the matter with Liam. He had to work out how to solve that issue somehow and sooner rather than later.

"Eames and Viv. I mean, she _is_ your sister and well, that's Eames. He doesn't exactly seem to be a one-woman man."

_Oh,_ thought Cobb and then smiled. "Nah, not really. Viv's always been independent and she can handle herself. I don't think Eames would hurt her. At least not intentionally." Cobb explained. _And if he did he knows I'll kill him, _he thought to himself.

"Besides." He added. "Sometimes people can surprise you. Although Viv and Mal never really got along."

"They didn't? How come? Arthur said Mal was lovely." said Ariadne curiously

"I don't know. They just never liked each other, I'm not sure where it came from. I tried talking to both of them about it but it was just something that never came up. Miles made a point in saying it was something they had to work out between each other. They were nice enough to each other when they met but you can always tell when there's that bit of tension between people who don't get along."

"That must've been hard." Ariadne could easily picture the situation in front of her because she had experienced it more than once. She had three older siblings whom were all married and not everyone got along well with one another.

"Yeah it was in the beginning. But then Viv moved to London and didn't visit as often so it wasn't something we thought a lot about."

"Something happened to Viv didn't it? I know you don't talk about it, at least not a lot. That dream you went into, and that thing about limbo."

Cobb couldn't help but to smile, Ariadne was sharp as always.

"There's no use hiding anything from you is there." he half joked.

"What happened to her?"

"There are many aspects of dream-sharing Ariadne. I think it's best you learn right now that a lot of them are not good. Unfortunately, Viviane found out the hard way. She ended up with the wrong people which led to her making some bad decisions. It was tough to say the least but she got through eventually with a lot of help and determination. You know Eames wasn't joking when he said she's very stubborn."

"Was it addiction?"

Ariadne guessed it was from the way Cobb talked about it. You couldn't see it on Viviane though which made Ariadne wonder what kind of addiction.

Cobb nodded. "Yeah. Somnacin."

"I didn't know you could get addicted to Somnacin? said Ariadne, a bit shocked. Of course she knew Somnacin was a drug she just hadn't figure it was the kind people got addicted to. It made a bit of sense of course, realising how much it affected you as a person when you first build your own dream.

"It's just like any other drug really, just a bit more complex and it takes a good chemist to truly understand the dephts of the drug. You know when you get involved in all this you're so amazed by the scale of it and often you don't fully realise what it does to you. Somnacin affects you just like any other drug would. That's why Mal and I got so caught up in it. It intoxicates you, draws you in so deep and then forces you to stay. It gives you such a rush to start with but then when you've used it long enough, when you wake up in reality again, it exhausts you to an immense degree. When the low wears off you keep wanting it, that power that feeling and that's how it gets to you. Mal and I were strong enough to pull out. To see my own sister so lost in it, so completely devoured by the power of it nearly tore me apart."

"Was that how she ended up in limbo?"

Once again Cobb nodded. "Yeah."

"How did you get her out?"

"Eames went in after her and found her in her own version of limbo. One big vast empty airport she couldn't escape. When she recovered she was so scared and didn't want anything to with extraction anymore. I tried talking to her of course but nothing I said worked so she packed her bags and moved to England. To go to universty, to get a degree and to leave all of this behind her. As you see, her plan worked. Our parents knew nothing about what really happened, we made up a vague version of the truth but it would've destroyed our mom and dad if they found out what had actually happened to their daughter. Eventually Viv recovered, I flew over to England every now and then to make sure she was really doing okay. But then Mal died and I became a wanted man. You can imagine it didn't really do much good to our family relationship. One child recovers from drug addiction and another becomes wanted for the murder of his wife. But that's life isn't it? Murphy's law and all that."

No one except the people who had been directly involved had found about this before. Cobb felt like he owed it to Ariadne to tell her the truth because there was so much she didn't know and there was also so much that he thought she needed to know. Their profession wasn't a happy-go-lucky one and if you weren't carefule one could easily slip and fall. They must have been talking for a good long while because at that moment, the first few rays of sunlight were shining through the warehouse windows.

"Well look at that. Time to get working again. But first I'm gonna go buy coffee." said the extractor and grabbed his coat as he headed out of the warehouse. Ariadne who was still inside had gotten a lot more to think about. It was a lot of information to take in and even if she wasn't particularly scared by what Cobb had told her, it had made her more cautious.

_**To be continued…**_

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_**This was a long chapter I know, but people have asked to find out more about Viviane and I wanted to write this. I hope you enjoyed it! Please pretty please review. **_

_**Cheers! **_


	10. Unexpected Propositions

**Disclaimer: **Inception still isn't mine.

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it! I'd say we're halfway to the end now, couple more chapters to go .

* * *

_**Ten**_

_Unexpected Propositions _

"I can't believe the only time I'm in Tokyo is for a job. You're telling me we don't have even a five minutes to look at the sights?"

"You can do that later. Banks is in the city, he said we were going to meet at this hotel." Cobb was pointing up at a huge skyscraper, a hotel called the Peninsula. Arthur had read about this hotel before and had to say it looked much more impressive in real life than on the photographs. No doubt this was a place to suit a businessman such as Banks. The hotel was posh to say the least. Both Japanese and foreign businessmen were entering and exiting the hotel and even if it was fairly early in the morning (Ariadne was suffering from jetlag) there was lots of movement in the lounge. The front desk staff were busy answering phones and serving the guests best as they could and when Cobb couldn't see any sign of Banks he walked up to the desk.

"May I help you Sir?" asked a young woman in English when she saw that Cobb was a foreigner.

"My name is Dominic Cobb. Mr. James Banks is uspposed tob expecting me and my company." said Cobb

"One moment please." The young woman dialled the phone and said something in Japanese and when she hung up she turned back to Cobb.

"Mr. Banks I sexpecting you in his room Mr. Cobb. I'll show the way."

Cobb gestured for the others to follow him and they went into one of the lifts.

"Well this brings back memories" said Eames as a majority of the group glanced at him. "What?" he asked with a grin. Arthur just shook his head and decided that he didn't want to know exactly what memories Eames was thinking about. The lift eventually stopped at the 5th floor and they walked out to a long wide corridor with several rooms on each side of it. The look of the corridors reminded Viviane a bit of the Shining. The stewardess stopped at a door with the room number 54 and knocked on the door.

"Enjoy your stay." she said to Cobb and then left. The extractor was about to knock on the door once more when it opened and James Banks was standing in front him. He glanced behind Cobb at the other members of his team and gave a sort of approving nod and then invited them into the room. Although 'room' was the wrong word, the suite was more like a very expensive flat with everything that added to it. Banks showed them into the office space and gestured for them to take a seat. Eames of course sat down on the couch but the rest of them decided to stand.

"I know you have a lot to do and I appreciate you coming here." said Banks at the same time as he carefully studied each and every member of the team. He strayed over to his desk, a very fancy wide desk made of mahogny, and leaned against it.

"I take it you had something important to discuss with us?" asked Cobb curiously. He knew that Padrovski was in the city staying at a nearby hotel and they were preparing to 'go get him' so to speak.

"Yes, indeed. I imagine you've planned everything out, designed the dream level, chosen the dreamer and all that so I'm assuming you're all set to go? Could you tell me exactly what the gameplan is?"

"Well Ariadne designed the dream levels, it'll just be a dream within a dream so the first dreamer is going to be myself and in the second level Eames is going to be the dreamer. We've studie Padrovski so we know him well enough to find where he's hiding the blueprint. The blueprint should be hidden inside some sort of vault. Eames is also a Forger so he can switch apperances whilst in the dream and that way easily get access to Padrovski in the dream. Once we have the blueprint the job is done. It's pretty simple."

"It appears so, but what will you do if you fail?" said a second voice. Cobb instantly recognized the heavily accented English and when he turned around Saito had entered the room along with Liam who just raised and eyebrow with a grin.

"What the hell is he doing here?" asked Ariadne cautiously. Of course she realised the answer at once and wasn't sure what to say.

"Banks?" asked Cobb, turning to the other businessman

"Dom my dear boy, I think we've been doublecrossed. This definitely brings back memories." said Eames, although he didn't sound too worried.

"Always so quick with words Mr. Eames. Maybe you want to hear us out first no?" said Saito. Liam walked through the room past Viviane and then glanced back at her. She shuddered a bit scared because she knew there was something unpredictable and unsafe about Liam. One could never be quite sure about what he was going to do. He changed his mind so quickly and so unannocuned that it easily caught you off guard.

"You know I remember the days when we were friends." Liam pointed out

"Yeah so do I. Actually you know what….I _really_ don't you two faced, double crossing son of a bitch." Viviane replied

"I think we want some explanation." Arthur quickly cut in.

"Mr. Banks and I realised that our goals were in fact quite similar and that it would benefit both Banks Industries and Procus Global." Saito explained

"So you decided to work together?" Ariadne guessed

"Exactly. We figured it would be easier to combine forces and clearly you've worked together before." said Banks

"Lot of good that did." added Eames sarcastically. "If we are going to work together we might need some sort of insurance that a - he doesn't go beserk on us in the dreamworld because trust me it wouldn't be the first time and that b – we still get out with the payment that was agreed on. Preferably a bit of a raise considering the current situation. Life insurance. That's the word I'm looking for."

"I am sure we can come to some sort of agreement. But we need the work to be done and I strongly insist that Mr. Jones accompanies you if you wish getting paid at all." Saito told them in a calm but serious voice and they all immediately understood the seriousness of the situation they were in.

_Great_, thought Cobb and ran his hand through his hair, trying to think and work out some sort of a plan.

"Do we make ourselves clear? Are we good? Can you work together without killing each other?" asked Banks as he glanced between Cobb and Liam.

"Absolutely." replied Liam self-assured. "Although I can't speak for Dominic here."

"We'll do it. We'll get the blueprints for you." Cobb said, trying to hold his temper.

"Good. Mr. Padrovski is at the Imperial Hotel, he'll be there tonight and we've arranged for things to go smooth. All you have to do is to connect the PASIV device and do the job. Good luck." said Saito.

_**To be continued…**_

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_**I know this definitely wasn't the most interesting chapter but I needed it. The next chapter will be the dream-sharing. I hope you haven't lost interest in the fic yet. Anyway, please review!**_


	11. Bring Me A Dream Part I

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing except the storyline and my own characters. Everything else is Nolan's.

**A/N: **This part I of the dreamworld 'showdown' so to speak. As they'll be in two levels I figured I'd devide the chapters in two parts. So we're basically three chapters from the end as far as I can see. Also the paragprahs in _italics_ are flashbacks just so you don't get confused. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it!

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_**Eleven **_

_Bring Me A Dream Part I_

"Jesus Christ I'd forgotten." The intensity of the dreamworld his Viviane with a bit of a blast and in an instant she recognized all the sensations and emotions she thought she had forgotten. Arthur put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Sure Viv and Cobb had been in her airport but this wasn't the same thing at all. Being in a dream on a job brought back so many memories both good and bad ones.

The dreamworld itself wasn't at all like the one in the Fischer Job. This time they were in fact still in Tokyo in the middle of a street. There was another hotel in front of them which Ariadne recognized as the Imperial Hotel not only because Banks had told them about it but because of the design. The young architect remembered that Miles had spoken about it at one of the lectures in Paris.. It was about just as fancy and posh as the Penisula but it was built to resemble a sort of historical palace with a european look to it.

"We follow the original plan. Ariadne, Arthur go get the car. Viv, you know what to do. Change you clothes and get Padrovski. Eames and I'll meet you inside." said Co bb and as he finished the sentence Ariadne, Viviane and Arthur had each gone their separate ways to get the task done.

"What do you want me to do?" Liam asked

"You're coming with us. I'm not letting you out of my sight. Come on." Eames decided to stay behind Liam and to have Cobb in front so that they could definitly keep an eye on him.

* * *

_Three Years Earlier _

"_Do you really think this is such a good idea Eames?" asked Arthur, skeptic as always. Although this time he had good reason to be, even Eames had to admit that. Truth be told he had to agree with Arthur but at the same time they didn't exactly have much of a choice, it was better to get it over and done with. The two of them were standing outside an apartment trying to decide how to best approach their current issue. They were in the middle of getting a job done but the past two weeks had been very tough and rocky, especially for Viviane and they needed to confront her about it._

"_Do we have a choice?" said Eames and looked at Arthur_

"_She won't be happy. She's been really excited about this job you know?" _

"_Yeah I know. But Dom's worried and frankly I'm worried too. I agree with Dom on this one. I think it's best to be on the safe side." Eames signed and knocked on the door in front of him, hoping that the outcome wouldn't be as bad as he feared. _

_

* * *

_

The door in front of Viviane opened and Mr. Padrovski glanced at her, slightly confused as if he couldn't guess who she was or what she was doing there. He was a handsome man Viviane thought, in fact much more so than she had assumed he would be. She guessed he was a give or take a few years over forty but clearly age had been good to him. Out of the corner of her eye Viviane could see Eames, Liam and Cobb walking along the corridor, dressed as hotel staff.

"You've sent for car Mr. Padrovski, I'm here to escort you to the conference." said Viviane hoping deeply that he would believe her.

"Ah yes of course, my bags are inside." Padrovski replied and gestured for the boys to go inside and get them for him. Once they got all the bags they headed through the corridor back to the lift. So far everything was going well and hopefully it would stay that way.

"I don't know they had americans working at the hotel." said the businessman in a heavily accented English.

"Oh they're very international. This is a summerjob for a merit on my resumé." Viviane told him as the lift went down a few floors until it stopped at the main entrance. Even in the dream the hotel was busy and Viviane was astounded by all the details that Ariadne had put into it. _She really is good, _she thought as they went out the entrance. A white Chrysler limousine was waiting for them inside and Arthur whom was dressed as the driver opened the door to Padrovski. Viviane climbed into the limousine from the other side. When everything was set they started driving and even if Padrovski didn't notice it, Viviane and Arthur kept eyecontact during the trip and Arthur looked in the rear view mirror to make sure Cobb, Eames and Liam were doing fine.

"Nice job Ariadne." said Cobb as Ariadne parked the car by the hotel. They all quickly got in and Ariadne drove to catch up with Arthur, Viviane and Padrovski.

"They get a limo we get a Toyota. Maybe just for once we could travel in style?" said Eames as he fastned his seatbeals.

"What's wrong with Toyotas?" asked Ariadne

"Eames is just picky as always." replied Liam. "Exactly where are we going?"

"Shinagawa Conference Centre. Hopefully Viv's charmed him at least enough to talk about what he does. It'll make it easier for us. When he's in his room we'll ambush him and then sedate him quick as we can. Once we're in the second dream level, Eames is going to shift into Leon Draminov, Padrvoski's right hand man and assuming things go as planned the blueprint will be ours." Cobb explained

"Can Viv do it though? No offence but last time I saw her she wasn't the most steady person on the planet."

"She can do it. I've no doubt."

"For all our sake's I hope so."

* * *

_Three Years Earlier _

"_Does your brother know you have that?" _

"_Well I won't tell him. Will you?" _

_Liam shrugged, knowing he probably ought to tell Cobb that his sister still had a Somnacin needle in her belongings but he figured he was probably going to find out sooner or later. It wasn't really any of his problems but he felt that he should at least look after her and make sure she didn't do anything stupid and reckless. _

"_I thought you quit?" he asked as he leaned against the table behind him. The young woman looked at him with a raised eyebrow and then turned away from him. Clearly things weren't going as well as they had appeared. _

"_Yeah well. What can I say?" Viviane replied and sighed. "Not like it matters does it? Dom is just too caught up with himself to bother or care, Arthur well, I don't wanna bother Arthur with my issues he's got better things to do, and Eames…I'm not even gonna start with that." _

"_Well it's your own choice but maybe you want to be thinking over your options before you stick that needle in your arm. Self-pitying is never much popular you know?" _

"_What are you? A saving saint? Come on Liam you don't give a damn. Stop pretending that you do." _

"_You're right, I don't. I just think maybe you should." _

_

* * *

_

"Okay, here we are." said Viviane as they finally arrived at Padrovski's hotelroom. Everything had gone smoothly, even more smoothly than planned. Of course it was good news but a bit worrying as well because things never went according to plan.

"Thank you, it's been a very pleasant ride." said Padrovski

"Pleasure is all mine. Although, I am very sorry."

"For what?"

"For this."

Before Padrovski could say anything Dom had come up to him from behind and covered his mouth so that he eventually fell unconscious.

_**To be continued…**_

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_**The action isn't as good as that in the film but hopefull you liked it anyway. Please review! **_


	12. Bring Me A Dream Part II

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing except Viv.

**A/N: **I am really bad at describing what happens in the dreamworld because the science of it really is complicated but I'll do my best. Right, here we go, chapter 12! Enjoy it!

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**_Twelve _**

_Bring Me A Dream Part II_

_1,5 Years Earlier _

"_Miles!" _

"_My dear girl, it's good to see you again."_

_Viviane couldn't agree more and anyway it was always a joy to see Miles. She might not have liked his daughter but somehow that had never affected his own opinion of her. Thinking about Mal made Viviane think about her brother and realising how worried she really was. Miles had of course told her what had happened and honestly Viv wasn't sure what to think or how to react. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Miles and his ex-wife might be going through. _Where are you Dom? _thought Viviane and sighed heavily. _

"_So what do we do now?" she asked in a low voice. They were at a café near St. Pauls' Cathedral in London so they couldn't really have that loud a conversation.. There were so many questions that needed to be answered but both Miles and Viviane realised that it wasn't going to be that easy at all._

"_We go on with our lives as per usual. Lay low, don't do anything drastic, don't draw any attention to yourself. No doubt Arthur spoke to you at the funeral?" replied Miles as he drank from his coffee. The authorities had already been on his tail and he had replied as truthfully as he could. He knew Dom hadn't killed his daughter, he could never be capable of such a thing._

"_Yeah he did. I told him to let me know if something happens. Even if Dom's not able to get in touch, Arthur always has his ways." _

"_They don't blame you Viviane. You know that don't you? They just worry about you."_

_Viviane glanced away for a while. Sure Miles was right, but there was a lot more to it than that. _

"_Yeah." she mumbled. _

"_I understand why you left and I don't judge you for it, but you can't keep running. Eventually your past tends to catch up with you in ways you least expect. But if you ever need me, Paris is only a short trainride away." _

_

* * *

_

"Wow, Ariadne really outdid herself this time." said Arthur as he looked around him. Ariadne had stayed behind on the previous level to keep an eye on the PASIV and to be able to wake them up. As usual they were using the music so they would find out how much time they had left. They were in Eames' dream this time and the design suitably the Winter Palace in Russia. Of course the Winter Palace was no longer the official royal resident but it was the perfect setting. There was a ball going on with music playing in the great hall and people were dressed up in their best clothes.

"There was a fire in the palace wasn't there?" asked Dom

"Yeah, 1837." replied Viviane. "Padrovski's looking at over at us. You think he knows?"

"No probably not. Do your thing Eames. We want to have this done as fast as possible." said Liam to Eames whom had just joined them. Although he didn't exactly look like himself. He had changed into one of Padrovski's bodyguards and when he, Liam and Cobb started heading towards Padrovski, Arthur and Viviane disappeared through the crowd as not to raise any suspicion. When they got up to Padrovski Eames spoke something to him in Russian and then took a step back to introduce Cobb and Liam.

"Mr. Holland and Mr. Adams." Said Eames

"Is it true that my documents are not safe?" asked Padrovski clearly worried about his investment. If all went according to plan they would be able to have the blueprints, ake a look at them and then wake up without any problems at all. There was no Mal interrupting or sabotagin for them this time.

"We believe you have a mole on the insane and it is therefor crucial that we move it to another location tonight." said Dom in his most convincing British accent

"And how do I know that it is not yourselves? Forgive me but one can never be too careful these days."

"Ah, Mr. Johnson told us you'd be doubtful. He also told us to tell you that the key to Einstein's puzzle—"

"—is in the eye of the beholder."

There was silence for a while and Dom was glad that all Arthur's research had paid off. At that moment they were posing as the security in charge of the blueprints. As it was the British ministry of defence Padrovski was in liaison with, it wouldn't make sense if they were american. Eventually Padrovski nodded and looked back up at Cobb and Liam.

"Okay, where should we take it?" asked Padrovski

"Do you have anywhere else safe, something they won't expect?" asked Liam

"Yes my flat, it's not far from here."

"Then let's go."

* * *

"I don't like it." said Viviane

"Like what?" asked Arthur, turning to Viviane. The two of them were leaning against a wall in the ballroom. Cobb, Eames and Liam had just left the great hall with Padrovski and the only thing they could really do was to wait. They could of course have stayed behind on the first level with Ariadne but Viviane wanted to make sure everything went smoothly and to keep an eye on Liam. She wondered if Saito really had done enough research on him to know what sort of man he was.

"This whole situation. Oughtn't Saito have done research on Liam before he hired him?"

"Maybe he was desperate. Let's just hope he doesn't do anything that would sabotage the whole operation."

Viviane frowned. "Don't hold your breath."

* * *

_So far, so good, _thought Dom as they entered the underground tunnels of the palace. The corridor was long and just about three metres wide and no doors on either side except right at the very end. Padrovski pressed the combination which opened the door and led them into a wide room which contained nothing but a huge vault made out of concrete. They only needed two minutes to look at the documents and soon enough Ariadne would start playing the music to wake them up. _Come on, come on, _thought Dom impatiently and glanced at Eames who had his hands in his pockets. Padrovski dialled the eight digit combination to the vault and it opened. There was a table with a folder on it in the middle of the room and after a few seconds Padrovski came back out with it.

"Is everything in place?" asked Cobb

"Yes, seems like it." Replied Padrovski as he quickly flickered through the pages

"Okay, come on, we haven't much ti—"

The sound of a gun clicking caught everyone's attention and when both Eames and Cobb turned around they saw Liam aiming a gun towards them. _Goddamnit, _thought Cobb and should have realised Liam wasn't trustworthy. He had just thought that not even Liam would be stupid enough to cause such a commotion in the dreamworld.

"Liam, what are you doing?" asked Cobb

"Hands in the air Dominic. And you too Eames." said Liam and the boys did as they were told. There was a slight shiver in the ground beneath them and Eames cursed under his breath.

"What is this? Ivan!" asked Padrovski, referring to Eames

"You'll find Mr. Padrovski, that not all is what it appears. Isn't that so Eames."

When Padrovski looked at "Ivan" again he could see that Eames had shifted back into his normal self. The russian backed a few steps, shocked and not knowing what to react to the current situation.

"I demand and explanation!" hissed Padrovski

"You needn't worry . They're the moles here to steal your documents. I'm here to protect you."

"How can I know anything that your saying is true?"

"I'm not pointing a gun at you am I?"

By now, both Eames and Cobb had guns in their hands aimed at Liam and the ground had started shaking even more. Any moment now, Padrovski's projections were going to start attacking them if the situation got more tense. They needed to get the documents, find Viviane and Arthur and wake up fast.

"There are two options here Mr. Padrovski, you can either give me the documents and I'll make sure they get to another location or risk getting shot and not by me." said Liam

"For God's sake Liam you don't know what you're doing!" said Dom, ready to shoot at any time if it was necessary.

"Can I shoot him now?" asked Eames

"What and risk being torn about by the projections? You don't want to risk that do you?" Liam told them

"It might be worth it if I get to kick your arse."

"So what do you say Padrovski? Is your life worth less than these papers? Run and I'll meet you by the entrace I give you my word."

Padrovski was just about to hand over the folder to Liam when Eames shot his leg. The businessman made a run for it and Cobb quite literally dived for the folder. Eames shot Liam again in the shoulder and the two of them made a run for it out of the tunnels and back up the the ballroom. By now everything was shaking the projections were getting anxious, trying to figure out where the commotion was coming from.

"This can't be good." said Arthur and started heading through the crowd with Viviane. They tried looking for Eames and Cobb but couldn't see them until Viv saw her brother's familiar coat appearing around a corner and with Eames after him in a hurry.

"There! They've got the folder! Come on!" Viviane shouted and hurried towards the other two.

"Have you got it? Do you know it?" Arthur asked when the four of them caught up with each other

"Yes! We got it! Come on Liam's right behind us not too –" Dom started but was interrupted by gunshot and then saw Liam in a corridor behind him, having troubles walking after Eames' shooting.

"Time for some music now Ariadne." said Eames anxiously and sure enough as he finished that sentence they could hear Edith Piaf in the background.

_Non, rien de rien, non je ne regrette rien_...

* * *

_4 Years Earlier_

"Hey Liam! Wait up!"

_Liam turned around and waited for Viviane to catch up with him. The weather was lovely and Viv didn't feel like spending the evening indoors. Cobb and Mal were busy and Eames wasn't in the city at the moment so there was just her, Arthur and Liam. Although Arthur had turned in early for the night._

"_Where are you off too in such a hurry?" asked Viv_

"_Just thought I'd go for a walk. Wanna join me?" replied Liam_

"_Yeah sure."_

"_Come on then." _

_

* * *

_

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you? What were you thinking!" Dom shouted as he got up on his feet. They had woken up from the levels in one of Saito's huge officerooms. Cobb was furious and with all rights. They were lucky they got out of the dream in such good condition because if they would have stayed any longer things could have gone really bad really quickly.

"Easy gentlemen." said Banks when he saw the tension rising in the room. Although honestly there wasn't much he could do to calm Dom down.

"Easy! Easy! Do you know what he did down there? He could have had us all _goddamn killed_ there!"

"Oh relax Dom, we got the documents didn't we?" said Liam

"We? I'm sorry I think what you mean is _Dom _and _Eames_ got the documents. You were too busy sabotaging everything." Viviane hissed and saw the icecold glance that Liam shot her

"Maybe we should all just relax for a moment. You've just come back, take a while and relax. Go out and breathe and come back in a few hours." Saito told them

"Yeah, yeah, let's go and breathe." replied Dom and headed out the door, almost slamming the door shut behind him. They walked out the Peninsula hotel and headed onto the street. Viviane, Arthur and Eames all followed Dom as fast as they could.

"Dom! Dom relax! Dominic for God's sake!" Viviane shouted as she finally caught up with her brother as he made a turn into an alleyway. She had hardly ever seen him so upset before.

"Don't let him get the best of you. You know he just—"

What happened next happened so fast, so quickly that nobody had time to react properly. Viviane felt something wet through her clothes and when she looked down she saw blood coming from her stomach.

"NO! Jesus Christ! _Viviane_!"

It all happened so fast. The bullet hit Viviane so quickly that she could hardly comprehend it and before she realised it herself she had fallen. Eames caught her and Cobb ran up to her as fast as he could. Liam had shot her, uncalled for. Cobb turned to face Liam and started heading towards him, whilst Arthur was trying to stop him. Viviane was lying on the ground coughing up blood as Eames and Ariadne attended to her. Cobb in the mean time, had got out a gun.

"Cobb! Cobb think about this! Don't do anything you'll regret!" Arthur said

"That son of a bitch shot my sister! What could I possibly regret?" Cobb half shouted

"She'll live Cobb. It's not that bad. Okay, it _is_ bad, but she'll survive. I've seen worse wounds than this." Eames called from where he was sitting. His hands were all covered in blood from trying to stabilise the wound and stop the bleeding. The bullet hadn't hit the heart and it was just pure luck that Liam was lousy at aiming. It was still a bad wound though, the pullet had pierced through just above her right breast.

"She _is_ going to be alright isn't she? Ariadne asked

Eames nodded. "Yeah, yeah I think so." _God I hope so _he thought.

_**To be continued…**_

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_**One more chapter to go, oh yes I am evil. Review please =)**_


	13. and merry part

**Disclaimer: **As per usual, Inception is not mine.

**A/N: **This is the last chapter guys. Enjoy it!

* * *

**_Thirteen_**

_…__..and merry part_

It hadn't taken long until the paramedics were there. The gunshot had been heard up to the hotel and it hadn't taken Banks and Saito long enough to figure what had happened. Eames' prediction was thankfully right – Viviane's wound wasn't fatal but it was going to take some time to heal. Thanks to Saito's influence and his personal opinion of Cobb he was able to make sure that Viv got the fastest and best possible care once at the hospital. Although that didn't stop anyone from worrying. Cobb had already lost his wife he wasn't going to lose his sister either.

"Coffee?"

Eames handed Cobb a plastic cup with cheap hospital coffee.

"Thanks." said the Extractor

"Viv's always been strong you know, she'll pull through. God knows she bloody impossible to argue with once she's set her mind to something."

"You know I think the only one who's ever won an argument against her or made her change her mind is Arthur."

"He may be a stick in the mud but he's got skills, no doubt about that.

Eames fiddled in his pocket. "I took her totem before one of the nurses saw it." he said. They didn't need to be asked more questions than they already had. They were all really just trying to avoid a court trial because there was no telling what the lawyers could find. Saito's men had taken care of Liam but still Cobb wasn't satisfied but at the moment there wasn't anything he could do about it.

"Good. I'm, uh, I'm gonna go get some air." said Cobb and started heading for the front door.

* * *

_3 Years Earlier_

"_You know, I think you need a new totem." _

Eames was holding Viviane's totem in his hand. It was a fairly small silver key, such as one that could hang on a charm bracelet. It was pretty simple key of old fashioned design. In the real world it didn't open anything at all but it did in the dream world. Eames didn't know what it opened though and he hadn't asked because that would truly defeat its purpose. Only Viviane knew what it opened. He felt a slight punch on his shoulder and looked up at Viviane whom was reaching for the key but he drew his hand backwards.

"_I _like_ my totem thank you very much Eames. Besides, you gave it to me, remember?" _

"_Oh yeah, I have good taste don't I? Especially in women."_

_By now, Eames was grinning widely and Viviane just shook her head. She reached for her totem again but lost her balance and practically fell over on top of Eames in the bed. _

"_Now this is more like it." he said and kissed Viv _

_

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_

"Are you sure you really wanna quit? Because Banks is right you know, there are some really interesting jobs out there." said Arthur as he and Ariadne walked up to Cobb on the balcony. Arthur was, as always, right and there were going to be a lot of interesting offers showing up in the coming few months. The art of extraction which had from the beginning been a subtle and secretive art was becoming more known and that could have both its ups and downs.

"Is that so?" asked Cobb as he leaned against the railing.

"Well yeah, besides, if you're not there we'd have to find a new extractor and you said it yourself once; that _you're_ the most skilled extractor." replied Ariadne. The young architect had more or less already decided that this was what she wanted to do. Sure she could do ordinary architect jobs when they were inbetween jobs, but she had come to fall in love with dreamsharing and with this whole new world that had opened up for her. She couldn't just turn away and pretend like there was nothing to it, especially not when she had Arthur. Cobb turned around and looked at the two of them and couldn't help but to smile.

"It's not like you're a wanted man anymore." Ariadne added, a fact which Cobb could not emphasise enough. Even Miles had once told him that you can't change who you are. Cobb didn't say anything else, he just nodded and both Ariadne and Arthur knew what he meant. He turned back around to view in front of him and could see the Tokyo skyline clearly.

"Well, you've convinced me. I think Saito's right though."

"About what?" asked Arthur

"There's a storm coming and it's not going to be pretty."

_**The End!**_

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_**Okay that was a bit of an anti-climatic and half lousy last chapter but I didn't want to overdo it either. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. **_

_**I have considered writing a prequel for this fic but I'm not sure yet. If you would like a prequel do leave me a comment with the reviews. **_

_**Thanks for reading this fic and I hope you enjoyed it! **_


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